


Atom Bomb Baby

by binarylightyear



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, def going to be more, first chapter, following my playthrough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 22:34:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6876718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binarylightyear/pseuds/binarylightyear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The SoSu is Ellie, just woken up from her stint in Vault 111.  The tale follows her progress, emotional and physical, and trying to come to grips with the world.  || Loosely following my current playthrough.  Obviously: Spoilers.  Mature rating for language and violence and whatnot later on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Atom Bomb Baby

**Author's Note:**

> || Hey everyone!
> 
> This is the first (long) chapter to a new fic for a new Sole Survivor/Fallout 4 playthrough.
> 
> I tried to solve some of the issues I had with immersion with more detailed interactions and getting things explained for her. Because, shit, it's gotta be confusing, right?
> 
> Anyway, there will be more to come, because they next chapter is practically writing itself.
> 
> Cheers! Leave comments! Let me know who you want to see next!

That initial breath was terrifying. Falling onto metal, shivering, cold, and all she could smell was death.

The entire place stank of it. The whole time she went through it, it was all she could smell. Skeletons, rats. Whatever. Death. 

Outside— that wasn’t any better. Worse, maybe. She stood there at the top of the Vault 111 elevator for what seemed like an eternity. The sunlight was hazy, the world: brown. Brown and gray. Everywhere. For a while she didn’t know what to think. That Henry was gone, that the entire world was gone— that… well that was almost too much to bear. She didn’t even know where Shaun was. Somewhere safe, she hoped, until she could find him and hold him in her arms again. The safest place he could ever be.

When she finally began to walk again, it was stumbling. Her feet and legs worked fine, of course, but there was litter all over the ground. It took her a while to get to the point where it became second nature to not trip over a skull or a femur or a bit of building. 

She raided the supplies from the Vault guys. She had found a bag in the Vault, so she used that now to gather food, meds, whatever she could find. Ammo? Well… at least she knew her way around a gun. Henry had seen to that. She knew tracking, gun maintenance and care, her grouping was definitely improving, basic first aid, some camping knowledge. Nothing extensive, but as she crouched there in that decrepit little shack, going through a crate, she was suddenly eternally grateful. Even after his death, Henry was still watching over her.

Once she got the bag over her shoulder, she headed down the path she had taken last with her family. She tried very hard not to look at the skeletons, but she couldn’t help it. She counted them along the way. It was in a very vague way that she realized the count now didn’t match the count from before. What happened to them?

She dropped the bag as soon as she saw Codsworth, running up to him and hugging him. He made a slightly offended noise, but was soon back to whirring happily. ‘Miss Ellie!’ He exclaimed once she had let him go and stepped back. ‘Am I glad to see you!’

‘I’m glad to see you too, Codsworth,’ she said warmly, walking forward, eyes over on their old house. ‘You’ve been staying here? I— I’m sorry we couldn’t take you with us.’

‘Oh, you all left in such a hurry. Everyone did. But, you know, I’ve been trying to keep things tidy in case you and sir returned.’ She turned to look at him, but was peeking in the door. ‘Is he… is sir coming up behind you then?’

She stopped, hand over her mouth for a few seconds. ‘No… Codsworth. It’s… just me. I don’t know where Shaun is but Henry he’s— he was murdered.’

There was whirring from him, but he didn’t say anything for a few very long seconds. He floated over to stand in front of her. ‘Ah, you’re just hungry, I’m sure. Sleeping for that long— must be famished.’ She laughed softly, sadly, stepping into the house. He followed behind her. ‘I mean— two centuries late for dinner, mum! I’m sure everything will be all right.’

Ellie stood at the counter, looking down at the Grognak comic. She could still see every page, every frame, clearly. She had just read it the day before… hadn’t she? ‘Two… centuries? That can’t be right.’ She glanced over at Codsworth. ‘Your meters are all working?’

‘More or less, Miss Ellie. But yes— two hundred years! I know it doesn’t look like I did much, but I did try and—‘

‘You’re wonderful, Codsworth.’ He broke off immediately, swirling a little where he floated. ‘I think… food, yeah. Maybe a bit of a lie down.’

‘I’ll get your bag, then, shall I?’ He was out the door without waiting for a response. She sat down on the couch, thanking him quietly when he set it beside her. She pulled out some Fancy Lad Snack Cakes and took a bite. Disgusting. ‘So, what was the Vault like?’

‘It was fine. Everyone was freaking out, of course. A lot of people had gotten down there before our group from the neighborhood. So, it was fine and clean until they made us step into these pods and we were frozen.’ She took another large bite of a disgusting snack cake. ‘Cryogenics, or whatever. I read the consoles before I left. I was the only one alive. Someone went in and cut off everyone else’s life support… but not mine. I was deliberately left alive and… I don’t think that bodes well.’ 

‘Can we not see it as a nice stroke of luck?’ He wondered, producing a bottle of purified water for her. She thanked him and took a long drink. ‘Perhaps it means you were meant to find young Shaun.’

She was quiet, pondering the snack cakes with a frown. ‘That… is a nice thought. Perhaps that’s a good thing to think.’

Ellie slept for a while, as unfathomable as that might seem. When she woke again, it was night, and Codsworth was still there, just sitting quietly and looking out at the night sky. She leaned over the back of the couch to look at him. ‘You all right?’

‘It was hard, you know?’ He said after a moment, one eye looking at her. ‘There were a lot of people, and violence. Raiders took up here for a while, left their vile marks on a few places. I tried to scrub them out after they left, but of course it didn’t come off.’

‘I always did appreciate art,’ she said lightly, trying to boost his mood a bit. He just sighed and looked back out at the sky. She came to sit beside him, sharing his view. She could hear the gentle whirring inside his metal frame. ‘It sounds like you need a break,’ she said finally, nudging him.

‘Now, now, Miss Ellie, you know I cannot rest until you have young Shaun again. I’ve been pondering on that very thing, you know, and it came to me: Concord! Just down the road, you know. Might be someone there who can point you in the right direction.’

‘Concord. Have you been there? What’s left of it?’

‘Oh, most of the buildings are still standing, of course. The people there did throw things at me, but, what can you do. I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that. You’ll probably know more with your memories, to be quite honest.’

It took her some time to actually get motivated to get going. She scrounged up some gear, storing her Vault suit in her old bedroom. She cleaned up a little, tugging out the old bed frame to use for firewood. Much everything else still was fine— could use a good scrub, maybe, but she set everything up in the way it was when she had last seen it— just yesterday, right? Codsworth helped, glad to have something to do, it seemed, and soon she was sitting down at the dining table, hand over the Grognak comic.

He came to hover beside her. She was wearing this old ratty outfit she found in one of the houses. Breeches that weren’t as scratchy as they appeared, a loose cotton shirt, and a long jacket which she rolled up the sleeves on. She had let down her hair for the moment, and she was doing her very best not to cry. ‘It’s all right, Miss Ellie. I’ll stay here and see to it that the neighborhood stays safe. Whenever you come back will be a fine day indeed.’

‘Yeah… okay.’ She stood slowly, tucking the shoelace with Henry’s ring on it underneath her shirt. He presented her with her bag, only packed with essential now, which she strapped onto her back. She had her trusty 10mm on her hip and enough ammo to hopefully last for days.

‘Do try and make some friends? Any help you can get will, no doubt, be helpful in the long run.’

‘No promises. I’m not in the keenest of moods.’

When she returned a few days later, she had quite a few people in tow, no matter what she tried to portray on the outside. She didn’t like the power armor she had had to use, so she stored it in its little place and never much looked at it, or the Deathclaw blood again. Sturges had her running about to find and learn to build things that they needed, but thankfully most of it was in the neighborhood. A few more people came, and they toiled for a week or so to clear out and clean up a few more of the houses besides her own and the yellow one. That one they mostly used to store things and as a base for the garden, which was slowly expanding.

She sat with Preston in the evenings, often joined by Sturges, and they exchanged stories of the Wasteland and of the time before the bombs dropped. She told of baseball games, of the food that she now realized she took largely for granted, the wars, her family (a little here, not much), and all those little things they asked about. Through them both, she learned a lot about the Wasteland and life in the last two hundred or so odd years. She questioned about caps, and deathclaws and raiders. She asked about the food they ate, which tasted, to her, still quite disgusting. She still remembered fresh food.

Slowly, it began to feel like home again, and she turned her sights onto what to do next— where to go. She didn’t have any leads on where to find Shaun besides the brief image of the man who she had seen take him, and she didn’t even know how useful that might be.

Dogmeat was there, too. Before they had made it back home, he had followed her diligently, but while they toiled to make the neighborhood livable, he mostly was on guard duty or sleeping, making good use of the dog house that she and Preston had found and moved out in front of her house. He slept in her makeshift bed at night, nudging her awake during nightmares and offering warmth otherwise. He was… a good friend.

Preston rarely slept, but when he did, he often slept on her couch. He kept his rifle within arm’s reach, and often woke up in his own nightmares, or from Ellie’s. She often chose to sleep on the chair or next to him on the couch, curled up at the end more often then not, and one of them usually ended up on the floor before they woke up in the morning. She couldn’t spend more than a little while in the bedroom, or Shaun’s room, but luckily her two friends didn’t seem to mind much.

After a time, she couldn’t put it off anymore. She had to get down to the City, and she thought that getting away from home for a bit might be good for the nightmares. Preston stayed to organize the Minutemen, and Dogmeat came with her.

It was slow-going, and she got turned around while ducking Super-Mutants and killing Raiders, feral hounds… Eventually she stopped, sitting and staring at her Pip-Boy map. Dogmeat was sniffing around, nosing into some scrap. ‘I think… we’re lost,’ she said finally, looking over at him. He came to sit beside her, looking along the street this way and that.

His head tilted, and then he hopped down the small wall, walking a little ways and waiting. She blinked, then followed. ‘Where we going, boy?’ She wondered, but of course he didn’t answer, just kept going. They stopped at each corner, both peering around them before continuing on. 

She stopped when she saw the lights, and he was another few steps before he realised, pausing to look back at her with a small bark. She had no real choice but to follow, but in her experience, lights meant Supermutants.

Ellie was pleasantly surprised by the sign for ‘Goodneighbor.’ She glanced down at Dogmeat, who was now wagging his tail and looking up at her. She bent down to rub under his muzzle happily, nuzzling the top of his head. ‘You probably are as tired as me, huh? Come on, let’s go catch some sleep.’ His tail still wagging, then opened the door to head inside.

She wrinkled up her nose at the smell that met them, and even Dogmeat paused, passing behind her to stand at the other side. It was clear it didn’t help. She was greeted by Wolfgang first, whom she had met before and intimidated enough for him to leave Trudy and her boy alone— now he gave her a nod and offered her a cigarette. She accepted, and his light, but then this other guy walked up, looking them over.

‘Hey, you know her? Because you know, we gotta protection fee— a bit of insurance you gotta pay here—‘

Ellie stepped forward, blowing the smoke right into his ugly face. ‘You better step off, or you’re the one that’s gonna need insurance.’ He stared at her, then glanced over at Wolfgang, who had his hand on his gun. The tension in the air was palpable.

A deep voice suddenly broke through. ‘Woah, woah, woah,’ he said, and Ellie’s eyes shifted over to the source. He was a ghoul, dressed in red with one of the old tri-point hats. He walked up in between them. ‘Any visitor is welcome in Goodneighbor, but you knew that, didn’t ya? She doesn’t need any insurance. Looks like she could take you down, anyway.’ She smirked, and he threw her this little smirk in response. ‘Okay, now, who’s in charge?’ He asked, looking back at the offender. When he didn’t respond right away, he stepped forward towards him, hands out to the sides. ‘What, you suddenly lose all your fight now?’

The offender sputters arguments against that statement, which the man in red met with a swift knife blow into his gut and through his heart. Her lip curled up as she watched. ‘Damn. Town eats him alive.’

He flipped his knife closed. ‘Hope that doesn’t taint your view of our little town, sister. Goodneighbor is lucky to have you.’ He turned so he was facing her now, looking her over. His eyes then flipped to Wolfgang. ‘You know this loser?’

‘We met once, albeit briefly.’ She glanced over at him and gave him a light smile. He smirked and looked away, lighting a fresh cigarette. Her gaze returned to the man in red. Ghoul in red. Who was very… charming for his appearance. His eyes were watching here ceaselessly. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not sure who you are…?’

‘Hancock, Mayor of this free town. And who are you? You clearly have these jokers handled.’

She stuck out her hand. ‘Ellie, of Sanctuary.’ Her eyes didn’t leave his. There was a long pause before he took her hand and shook it. Woah, wow, his hands were— strong, with this odd kind of texture that she didn’t want to let go of. ‘We were on our way to Diamond City.’

‘Oh?’ He seemed to share her reluctance to part hands, but he did. He pulled out his own cigarette. ‘What were you going to do there? Get a haircut?’

She smiled. ‘No, I’m— looking for someone. I thought someone there might be able to help me.’ He nodded, eyes around the little square before they landed back on her.  
‘Must be important. I heard about your little settlement, and it’s way up there almost off the map. To bring you all the way down into the city— that takes determination.’

‘He’s very important.’ She paused, but he didn’t comment, just blew out some smoke and looked at her. ‘Family.’

‘Much luck to ya, Ellie,’ he said, nodding to her. ‘Take your time here, look around. Maybe we have someone in our free town to help you, hmm?’

‘A thought that has crossed my mind now that I’m here. I didn’t even know this place existed. Dogmeat led me here.’ He glanced down at her words, hand out to Dogmeat. He came forward and nuzzled against his hand.

‘I haven’t seen you in a while, buddy. Still got that girl up a few blocks?’ He barked an affirmative, tail wagging, which caused Hancock to laugh. ‘Hey, if Dogmeat is tagging along with you, you can’t be too bad. He’s picky.’

‘You’ve met before?’

‘Oh, sure. Took down some raiders together a while back. He followed me back here, and has come back to visit every once in a while. Damn smart dog. Smarter than most goons I meet, anyway.’

‘Doesn’t take much for that.’ He chuckled, giving the dog a last pat before standing to look her over again. 

‘You need a high, or a real deep voice in your ear, you know where to find me,’ he said, tipping his hat to her and turning to walk back to the large building behind him.

‘I like the antique look,’ she called after him, and he turned just long enough to give her a hearty wink before turning back around.

‘Goddamn,’ Wolfgang breathed out in a relieved sort of way, sitting down on the half wall there. ‘Can’t believe you got on his good side.’ She sat down beside him, foot swinging a bit.

‘It’s not hard to be a decent person, you know. You should try it sometime.’ 

He shrugged, head tilting back to let out a long stream of smoke. ‘Hey, you’re in the business for a while, and you just don’t care anymore, ya know?’

She finished the cigarette with him and then stood with a stretch. She took off her hat for a second, eyes up to look at the sky. It always seemed to look ominous, but she could still see flickers of stars through it. Eventually, she began walking towards that big building, following a line of drifters.

What she found were red lights and the Third Rail. Her hair down to her shoulders, she pressed her militia hat back on and proceeded inside.

A ghoul was serving as the bouncer, giving her and Dogmeat a thorough looking-over. He didn’t attempt to stop them, and proceeded down into the old subway station. The smoke reached her nose first, and then the music and ambient sounds hit her. She was instantly transported back to before, back to where she met Henry in the first place. A bar, not much different than the one she now stood in. Dogmeat went to wander, and she stepped up towards the bar.

A ghoul on the couch scoffed at her. ‘Geez, another merc looking for MacCready? He’s in the back room.’ She paused in her steps, looking down at the ghoul. 

‘Who?’

‘Don’t much mind them, love,’ came a voice from behind the bar, and she looked up quickly, because it sounded oddly familiar. It was a Mr. Handy, with a bowler hat and everything. She came over to him, leaning against the bar. ‘You know how they get. All salty with what the world’s handed them.’

‘Yeah, I’m starting to learn that,’ she said, watching as he cleaned a glass.

‘I’ve not seen you before, have I? What brings you down into the pub?’

‘Just got into town. Looking for some help.’

‘What, not a drink?’ An eye turns and narrows to something across the room before returning to her. ‘Come on, look like you’ll be needing one. Then you go talk to that mere in the back, right? He’s not gone anywhere for weeks. He’ll last a few more minutes.’

She smirked, sitting down on the stool. ‘All right, you sold me. Whatcha have? Something good?’

‘How about an ale? Or are you more of a hard liquor type of gal?’

‘Guess you don’t have any whiskey sours, huh? Not able to make one?’

He whirred there behind the bar, eyes even now more focused on her. ‘My, it’s been ages. But, no sorry. I can give you a whiskey neat, perhaps a rum and nuka…’ He trailed off, considering her still. ‘You’re not a well preserved ghoul, are ya?’

She leaned her hand against her cheek, sighing. ‘No. And I have a lot to catch up on.’

‘I knew you needed a drink, love. Whiskey it is. As long as you got the caps.’ A few caps landed on the counter, and an almost clean glass with whiskey landed in front of her. She downed it immediately, and immediately also regretted it. She made a face, and the Mr. Handy started laughing. ‘Two centuries does it’s best to make it stronger, doesn’t it?’

‘You could have warned me!’ She said finally, before breaking down into laughter. He laughed as well, pouring her another.

‘Take this one slow, all right?” She nodded, taking a little sip. ‘Okay, now, love, you owe me a story, don’t you?’

Ellie made a face. ‘Cryo.’ The robot whirled and took up a glass to clean as he processed that.

‘Well that explains that deer-like expression on your face, love. Cheers on getting here at all.’ She drank to that. ‘Whatcha need help with, anyway?’

‘My baby was stolen while I was frozen. I’m looking for him.’

‘Then maybe a mere isn’t what you need.’ He hummed, thinking. She finished the whiskey while he was. ‘I did hear of someone, yeah, over in Diamond City. A detective, used to hang out here quite a bit. If anyone can help you, it’s him.’

‘Thanks, — I’m sorry, I never got your name.’

He chuckled. ‘Whitechapel Charlie, just Charlie is all right too.’

‘I’m Ellie. Just— Ellie. Unless you’re a Minuteman.’

‘Oh? What are you then?’

‘General.’

He laughed again, taking her glass back. ‘Go on then, General. Go talk to the merc. God knows he needs the work.’

She nodded to him, getting down with a wink and a bit of a sway. She was soon all right, and headed back to where Charlie had pointed: the door under the bright VIP sign. She walked through, already hearing loud and angry voices.

The room was far from empty. She gave it a quick glance around. A few drifters sitting along the edges barely got a glance, but the men in the middle of the room got all the attention. Two were standing, decked out in that Blackwater type of gear she was used to seeing on mercs from before. They looked like they were trying to look menacing. They were addressing a man sitting casually on the couch at the back wall. He was smoking a cigarette and though he looked annoyed, he didn’t look overly concerned.

Ellie was obviously catching the backend of the conversation, and she wondered what she had missed. 

‘I’m not running with the Gunners anymore, and I told you that.’

‘Yeah, but you’re still operating and taking jobs within the Commonwealth. And that don’t sit too well with us, MacCready. The only reason you’re not filled with lead already is because we don’t want a war with Goodneighbor. Because we respect boundaries. Something you—‘

‘Blah, blah, blah. You done yet?’

The man scowled at him, and the other standing wondered why they had to take this kind of shit.

‘Look, why don’t you take your girlfriend and scamper on out of here before you get in real trouble.’

They both bristled at this, but they did leave. The man relaxed back onto the couch, eyes falling onto her. Well, she was staring and being quite nosey.

‘Need something, lady?’ She didn’t respond right away, so he continued. ‘Look, if you’re looking for a friend or a shoulder to cry on, I’m not your guy. But if you need a gun… yeah. I might be your man.’

‘Actually, that’s why I came back here,’ she said finally, perching herself on the table in front of him. ‘But those guys— they’re not gonna cause a problem, are they?’

He shook his head. ‘Winlock and Barnes? They’re from the Gunners. Shouldn’t be much of a problem. Whatcha need me for, anyway? You look like you can take care of yourself.’

‘Actually, I was hoping you could also double as a navigator?’ He stared at her, blowing smoke over to the side, waiting for an explanation. ‘Because I’m not familiar with the area. I need to get to Diamond City.’

‘Ugh. Why there, huh?’

‘I was told there was a detective there that could help me. I’m looking for my son.’

He was quiet for a few long minutes. Finally, his eyes came back to her. ‘All right. I get paid up front. Two hundred fifty caps, and I’m a hired gun as long as you need me. Provided you feed me, and whatever. And before you ask, it’s not negotiable.’

‘Everything’s negotiable,’ she said immediately. ‘Two hundred, and I’ll share my cigarette stash with you.’

‘Deal,’ he agreed immediately, and they took a few moments for the exchange of the caps. She then came to sit beside him, pulling out a fresh cigarette and lighting it up. He made pinchy fingers at her pack, and she held it out to him. He took his time picking one. ‘So, what should I call you then, boss?’

‘Ellie. I do like the sound of boss, though.’

He chuckled, taking her lighter and lighting his cigarette with it before handing it back. ‘I bet you do. Well, I’m ready whenever you are.’ She slid the lighter and pack back into her pocket, boots up and on the table. She let out a long stream of smoke up into the air.

‘MacCready, right? Can I call you… Mac and Cheese?’

‘No.’

‘Mac Attack?’ Another no. ‘Big Mac?’

‘Now you’re just trying to embarrass me.’ She chuckled, taking off her hat again and setting it beside her. ‘Hey, is that your dog?’

‘Yeah, Dogmeat.’ She looked over at him, where he was sniffing around a Drifter’s feet, and his head perked up at hearing his name. He trotted over, and MacCready gasped happily.

‘I thought I recognized you, buddy!’ He said, cigarette down in the ash tray so he could give all his attention to Dogmeat. His tail was wagging, and he popped up halfway onto the couch to lick the man happily. Mac rubbed the sides of his head roughly, still laughing.

She shook her head. ‘I’m starting to think he knows everyone.’

‘He’s got around, haven’t you?’ Dogmeat barked an affirmative. ‘Oh, man, if you got Dogmeat with you, you can’t be too bad. Won’t have to worry about a knife in my back, probably.’

‘Keep your knife out of mine, and you have nothing to worry about,’ she said, and he glanced over at her with a smile. An actual genuine smile. ‘Where do you sleep at?’

‘Sleep? A distant memory. Mostly I just drink until I pass out, then wake up and drink some more.’

‘Not on my watch. Get your stuff. A good night’s sleep before we head out in the morning.’ He nodded and got his things, including the cigarette that went out. He spent a few seconds relighting it while she looked at Dogmeat. ‘You coming too? I know Hancock mentioned your girlfriend—‘ She was cut off by a loud bark, and a wag of his tail. She laughed, bending down to kiss his nose and rub his sides warmly. ‘Okay. Stay safe. See you at home if not before, okay?’ Another affirmative bark, and he trotted off in front of them, tail still wagging.

Mac and her exchanged smirks, but went out and up behind the dog. Ham was opening the door for him when they came up, and the ghoul stepped back quickly with a clearing of his throat. They went out into the growing night, and he let out a long breath. ‘Damn. I’m not gonna miss this place.’

He pointed her to the Hotel Rexford, and she nodded. They headed in, ignored the drug dealer for now, and she passed over some caps for a room. Only one available. She glanced at him, and he shrugged. ‘Sure there’s a couch or something.’

She shook her head as they started up the stairs, the key in hand. ‘I’m gonna warn you, Mac, I often have nightmares. Usually Dogmeat is there to wake me but—‘

‘Hey. I get them too. I don’t mind shaking you awake if you do the same for me.’

She let out a big sigh of relief. ‘Great. Thank you. I do sleep better when not at home but…’ She shook her head again, and they turned the corner to continue up the staircase.

‘Where is home, anyway?’

‘We have a little settlement at Sanctuary, the Minutemen, I mean. The farm and my friends are mostly all there. And a lot of memories.’ Another turn for the final staircase. ‘You’ll see it sometime soon, I hope. Maybe I’ll even scrounge you up your own bed.’

He tried to hide it, but that earned a smile. ‘Hey, if you want to pay me for sleeping, who am I to complain?’ They had reached the landing now, and walked along the hallway. He was craning his neck, looking to see for the door, when the door on their left opened abruptly.

She let out a little scream, and so did the ghoul, followed by a long stream of unbelieving curses. ‘I can’t— it’s you! From Sanctuary!’

‘You’re the Vault-tec rep!’ She exclaimed, looking him over. He looked much the worse for wear, and it looked like he tried to keep in the same uniform from over two centuries ago. ‘What are you— what are you doing here?’

‘What are you doing here? And— you don’t look like you’ve aged at all!’

She gave him a look, and her face suddenly fell. ‘Oh you— you didn’t know. No one told you, did they?’

‘What? Tell me what!’

‘It was some sick experiment. We barely even got into our vault suits when we were frozen. All of us. I only just woke up recently; a few weeks ago.’

‘No I… no. No one told me. But— look at you. You look as fresh as you did the morning the bombs fell and I— I had to go through everything to get here. All the violence, and sickness, and blood and shit. You— you…’

‘Hey,’ she said, stepping forward to put a hand on his shoulder. His eyes had fallen, words failing him. ‘I’ve gone through hell since waking up, but you and me, we’re the only ones left from Sanctuary, who knew how it was before. Why not go back? We got a little settlement there now, and that’s where I call home.’

He sniffled and looked at her. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah, really. I’m just here to find my baby, then we’ll be back. I love my home.’

‘O-okay. Yeah. That sounds good. A lot better than here. I’ll tell them you sent me! That you said hi!’ He wrapped her in a big hug, and over his sniffling she heard Mac click his safety off. She laughed and patted his back warmly.

‘Go on. I’ll see you when I get back,’ she said, pulling back from him. He nodded, handkerchief out as he hurried down the stairs.

‘Woah. Okay. I have about a thousand questions right now,’ Mac said after a few seconds. She shook her head with a little laugh, walking down to the end room and unlocked it.

‘Okay. Yeah, I know that was— I didn’t mean for you to find out like that. Where should I start?’

They stepped into the room, and he took a long minute locking it, checking the windows and drawing the curtains, and then (she presumed) checking for mines or bombs? Okay, Mac. ‘At the beginning, I guess? Your choice, I suppose.’

She sat down on the bed to start unloading her gear, and took in a deep breath. And the words flowed.


End file.
